Scribblings of the unstable

Our collaboration with Ruaidhri Ryan is finally complete. Make me a model (formerly DIVA) is ready for your interweb perusal. I feel like we’ve been a little slack in blogging the process fully, but never mind that! It has been really fun, and we are pleased with the final outcome.

As you will be able to see our website has undergone a little change in facade for to coincide with the completion of the project, so hop on over there and have a look at photos of our completed collection, and images of some of the pieces being used in performance art. ooooooooooh.

As part of the production the excellent photographer Almer Haser took some studio shots of our collection; aptly named by Ruaidhri ‘Make me a model’- MEGALOLZ. Below are some of the ones that didn’t make it onto our site. Check out the demonic stare only a fine artist can achieve…

Accessories- Beige Banquet

Model/curation- Ruiadhri Ryan

Photography- Almer Haser

Styling- Alice Nyong

Almer did a great job, as has Ruaidhri we’d really like to work in conjunction with other artists and photographers in the future. Take a look at http://wearedisposabledigital.com where you can view Ruaidhri’s completed video, and of course check out our website for more delicious pics!

We’ve sent our outfits to Ruaidhri Ryan, and on Saturday I will be visiting Bristol to style a shoot with photographer Alma Haser, showcasing all of our outfits. Photos will be up soon!

Ruaidhri is filming the final video on the 27th February and wants lots of willing volunteers. Get involved here. Also keep an eye on his website for more info.

In the meantime, to cheer up this gloomy February day, I am going to share a video by video artist and photographer Marie Nguyen, that Shane and I went through a time of being totally obsessed with. Maybe part of the ‘Diva’ collection’s stark white colour scheme came from the natural light and flour of this video, that we admired quite a long time ago.

Alice added a post of what we have been up to recently and im just adding some development from my end.

Ok, so i made a bow tie to accompany the hat that alice made, the tie is made from felt and incorporates pinwheels underneath just as the hat does. Both pictured together in above right picture.

Bow tie close up

I made another headpiece from fabric as a cross between the cap and the hood. The top is shaped around the head and two of the sections extend and join in a loop under the chin. The inside is metallic the same as the hood.

The head piece can be worn in different ways and is designed to be versatile above is the reflective side wrapped around the back of the neck.

The headpiece can also be pinned like on the left image above to make different shapes and styles. The right image is again another variation of how it can be worn.

Sweet, so yeah after a lot of thumb-staking hand sewing we are all done for a while now. So signed sealed delivered they’re yours Ruaidhri Ryan. Good luck with filming this weekend.

DIVA-our project with fine artist Ruaidhri Ryan is in full swing. Ruaidhri is developing the video side of things; he has made a test video with his own ‘DIVA’ headpiece that you can check out below. (don’t try this at home! haha)

Mean while we have been busy creating costumes for Ruaidhri to wear during the completed video, which will be filmed this weekend! Unfortunately we have been working in separate makeshift studios, so a lot of back and forth camera-phone pictures have been circulating between myself and Shane, so apologies for the poor quality blame bb (blackberry not beige banquet). But we thought we’d give an idea to some of the DIVA costumes and how they are coming along.

A reflective hood. A hood head piece made by Shane with a reflective inside.

Angular reflective beard/chin piece. A chin piece (worn like a mask across the back of the head) to reflect light onto the face by various jagged angles.

“This photograph is simply documentation of a performance. A man walks to the shops to purchase a pint of milk, his employee is paid to follow him, controlling the light on his face to be the most flattering possible. The work is being developed into a filmed performance which utilises the crew, as much as the character, as members of the cast – revealing some of the mechanics of cinema, whilst also emphasizing the impossibility of living in a movie in reality.” -Ruaidhri Ryan.

Beige Banquet have finally come out of our necessary creative hibernation, and have taken on a project alongside fine artist and fabulous gent Ruaidhri Ryan. Entitled ‘Diva’ Ruaidhri will be filming a video developing from the performance above, and Beige Banquet will be creating a collection to coincide with it. It is in the very early stages, but the purpose of the costumes will be to illuminate the ‘diva’ in a flattering way, taking his vanity to the absurd, extreme and beige. Below are our preliminary reference points, playing with light, reflection and performance. Stay posted for what we come up with, and keep an eye on Ruaidhri’s website for his progress with the project.